Knightess
by SilentKnightInDisguise11
Summary: First in a series. Sir Andrew...a knight like no other. But this knight has an astonishing secret...Sir Andrew is actually a she! And because of this secret, both Morgana and Arthur fall for her! Oops? ArthurxOC, MerlinxGwen
1. Coming Clean

_Title: Knightess_

_Summary: First in a series. Sir Andrew...a knight like no other. But this knight has an astonishing secret...Sir Andrew is actually a she! And because of this secret, both Morgana and Arthur fall for her! Oops? ArthurxOC, MerlinxGwen_

_Genre: Fantasy, Romance_

_Rating: T_

**Silent Knight: Now, I'll always love Arwen [Arthur/Gwen], but I decided to go ahead and write an Arthur/OC. Don't hate me, please - but...just give this story a chance, would ya? That's all I ask.**

**Now, hopefully this story doesn't come off too cliche, you know - girl acting as a guy, becoming a guy, falling in love with the Prince...er, is there ever a story like that? I'm not too sure, but still, hopefully it's not cliche. Also, while it does follow **_Merlin_**, I am going to change a bit of the stuff around - like, for example, the order in which the episodes were aired. Hope you guys don't mind too much!**

**Remember, I don't own anything, except for the country Ergon, Andrea/Andrew, and the Wigum family! Everything else belongs to BBC. Duh!**

* * *

**Knightess**

**Prologue: C****oming Clean**

Andrea Wigum would never truly understand Arthur Pendragon.

He was different than the Princes she had met, but at first she had thought that the differences were _bad different_. He was rude to people he had never met, never known, hostile, a jealous git, an arrogant fool simply because he could be, acts so careful for Camelot yet is clueless and careless half of the time about other things that are just as important as Camelot, and, well...the list just goes on.

But she should have known not to judge a book only be its cover.

On the inside, Arthur Pendragon was so different. He had multiple things that made him different than other Princes, but _good different_. He cared for people that he knew were in great need or in great danger, he saw beauty in things that people sometimes overlooked, if he got used to you he'd do everything he could to never let you go, he was caring and compassionate and reasonable and responsible...but all these attributes she had not seen at first.

When she had first met him - well, she never wanted to see him again. He had been ruthless, not wanting her to become a knight, simply because she "rubbed him the wrong way," or there was "something weird about _Andrew Wigum_." But this feeling of anger and irritation between them vanished as Arthur continued to not allow her to become a knight, deciding to go ahead and train her himself, and finally, allowing her to become Sir Andrew, noble knight of Camelot.

At the time, she had been acting as a boy, as her brother, Andrew Wigum, who no one knew was dead. It was a secret only she, her father and mother, and a handful of trusted knights in Ergon, the country which her father helped rule, knew of.

In other people's eyes, Andrew and Andrea Wigum were very much alive - but Andrea was deathly sick, and everything Earl Wigum, her father, tried, didn't seem to be working. Everyone in Ergon and other countries only knew that Adrea Wigum might not live to see her brother become Earl Wigum the Second. That was what everyone else knew.

That was what everyone else would have to believe for the rest of their lives.

Now Andrea was leaving Camelot, leaving Arthur, leaving Merlin, leaving everything she had grown close to behind, because Sir Andrew had to leave to become the next Earl in Ergon. Arthur had been furious, Merlin had been sympathetic, but that didn't change what Andrea had to do, what _Sir Andrew_ had to do. Leave Camelot, and probably never come back ever again.

And, as she looked back at Camelot for quite possibly the last time, rain pelting down her small frame, Andrea Wigum was unable to stop herself from reminiscing the past, remembering the time she had spent here at Camelot, with Merlin, and with him, _Arthur Pendragon_...

* * *

_Let the rain fall down, and wake my dreams,_

_Let it wash away my sanity_

_'Cause I wanna feel the thunder,_

_I wanna scream_

_Let the rain fall down, I'm coming clean_

* * *

**Silent Knight: So, the whole song-at-the-end-of-a-chapter thing isn't gonna continue all the time. Sometimes the song might be in the chapter itself, but if the moment isn't there, don't expect the song to be.**

**Anywho, the song is not mine, obviously. It's called **_Coming Clean_**, and it's by Hilary Duff.**

**Since I've written about fifteen chapters for this story already, hopefully I'll be able to update every week or so **_(I want to always stay ahead of this story by at least two chapters, so, yeah - no daily updates because of this)_**. Hopefully you have decided that this story deserves a chance!**

**Also, do try and review this story - as much love as you can give it will do! ^.^ I'll try my best to make my OC Andrea Wigum to be a different sort of OC from the rest of the OCs you've seen paired up with either Arthur or Merlin. And, yes, like the summary states, Morgana likes Andrew, the knight Andrea is posing as - weird love triangle, huh? I thought so! lol**

**Until next time.**

**Silent Knight over and out!**


	2. The Gardens

_Title: Knightess_

_Summary: First in a series. Sir Andrew...a knight like no other. But this knight has an astonishing secret...Sir Andrew is actually a she! And because of this secret, both Morgana and Arthur fall for her! Oops? ArthurxOC, MerlinxGwen_

_Genre: Fantasy, Romance_

_Rating: T_

**Silent Knight: Thanks so much for the reviews, guys! :) Thanks for seeing the potential and interest in this story, and favouriting and altering this story as well. I am forever in your debt. Hopefully I can pay it off with the help of chapters, though. ;)**

**So, this one has a lot of interaction with Andrea and Arthur, so I hope you enjoy that. Other characters in this chapter are: Lancelot, Merlin, and Gwen. Morgana hasn't shown up yet, but she will in the next chapter. Oh, and just a heads up: she's already got her eye on Sir Andrew, and Andrea knows she fancies him. ;) lol**

**Also, jealous!Arthur will be rearing his head in the next chapter. I know - awesome, right? But there will be some confused!Arthur as well.**

**Now, onto this chapter. Angry!Arthur for sure is here, and there is some Arthur/Merlin interaction in the beginning too, for all you people who love their banters just as much as I do. ;)**

**Anywho - onto the story, er, chapter. Whatever. If you'd like a disclaimer, go ahead and check the prologue. It's there.**

* * *

**Knightess**

**Chapter 1: T****he Gardens**

"_Mer_lin!" Arthur shouted angrily, "Where is Sir Andrew? Did you see him?" Merlin furrowed his eyebrows, rooting through his mind silently for a "Sir Andrew." He didn't remember a knight named Sir Andrew...

"Sir Andrew? Uh...never heard of him, Sire." Merlin responded truthfully.

Arthur rolled his eyes at his manservant. "He was made knight a few weeks ago, Merlin. God - how _could_ you forget that?" He said harshly, then pushed him out of the way and "interrogated" another manservant. Merlin stood where Arthur had pushed him rather awkwardly, not sure what to do. When Arthur and the manservant stopped conversing and the manservant walked away, Arthur looked at him from behind his shoulder.

"Well? What are you doing, standing there? Go muck out the stables, Merlin!" Merlin jerked back to life and then fast walked away.

Arthur sighed loudly, running a hand through his hair. "What am I going to do with that idiot?" The Prince murmured, then shook his head and walked towards the gardens, where the manservant had said he had seen Sir Andrew last. When Arthur stepped into the gardens, he immediately saw that Sir Andrew was still there, hands crossed over his chest, staring up at the sky. He tried his best to ignore the way the other man's light brown hair shone in the light, making some of the strands seem red, and strode over to him.

"Sir Andrew!" He barked. The boy flinched and turned around. When seeing who he was, he did a sloppy bow that even Merlin was better at, then awkwardly stood there, much like his manservant from before. Truthfully, the similarity between the two of them presicely at this moment was scaring Arthur a bit.

"Yes, Sire?" Sir Andrew said as respectfully as he could, "How may I be of your service?"

"By actually showing up for practices, for one," Arthur replied coldly, "Where were you, pray tell?"

Sir Andrew scratched the back of his neck. "Well, the King had asked for me, Sire, which was why I was unable to attend the practice. I apologise for not being able to show up. I'll for sure attend the next practice on time. You have my word, Sire." Arthur stared hard at him for a while, then nodded at him.

"Alright. Have a good day, Sir Andrew. Oh, and next practice, as you may or may not know, is tomorrow." He told the knight. Sir Andrew nodded, and then respectfully bid him good day, watching silently as the Prince walked away from him and out of the gardens.

* * *

Only when Prince Arthur was a safe distance away did Andrea breathe a sigh of relief. Talking to the Prince always made her nervous, as if he would find out the fact that Sir Andrew wasn't truly a boy, but a girl just by being in her presence. Since that hadn't happened as of yet, and he had met her numerous times to boot, it was safe to say that that would never happen, but it seemed like her body hadn't realized that, for it was always so stiff and she'd find her tongue going numb, making it impossible for her to speak with him. How she had been able to converse with him right then was a mystery to her.

Discarding this train of thought for now, Andrea decided to return to what she had been thinking about before Prince Arthur had shown up, and thought back to why King Uther had called her into the throne room and shivered. It had been such a big close call that it hadn't been funny at all - it still wasn't the least bit funny, actually.

* * *

_"My King, you called for me?" Andrea asked as respectfully as she could, remembering to tone her voice down so it sounded deep and husky, much like a boy going through the process of "becoming a man" - or what everyone likes to call it, at least - should be._

_King Uther sat on his throne, resting back against it. His crown was on his head as well, and he was fingering the sword that lay against the armrest. Andrea swallowed nervously, and wiped her sweaty palms on her breeches as stealthily as she could. It didn't seem like he noticed her nervousness, thankfully._

_"Ah, Sir Andrew, you've finally shown. And yes, I did call for you. Nothing much, really. I just wannted to know how you were doing - and how your father, Earl Wigum, was doing as well. Your father and I haven't talked in ages, it seems." King Uther said rather coldly. Andrea wanted to roll her eyes at this. Who's fault was it that they weren't talking? Purely Uther's. Oh - right; _King_ Uther's._

_"My father and I are splendid, really." Andrea said as happily as shecould, giving him a warm smile. King Uther gave her a rather creepy smile in return, and she almosr cringed in disgust, but managed to stop herself in time._

_He nodded then. "Ah, yes - and how is your sister doing? Andrea, I believe her name is?" Andrea had given him a false story about her, "Andrew," and her "sister" Andrea. In reality, her brother Andrew had died just a few years ago, but this had been kept secret from the public. Since her father needed an heir, he decided to turn Andrea into Andrew. For a while Andrea had stayed in Ergon, masquerading both as herself and her brother._

_It was time to let part of the truth out, it seemed._

_Andrea did her best to make a solemn face. "I received information a few weeks ago that Andrea had been killed. She had been strolling the forest near the castle and a robber robbed her, raped her and then proceeded with...erm, killing her." A tear fell, but this was a real one. Andrew had indeed been robbed, and the robber - who was a man, mind you - had raped him after injuring him greatly, and left him to die. The guards had found and killed the robber, but it didn't at all lessen the pain Andrea felt, even though it had been a while since his murder - two, three months or so._

_It had been quite difficult to hide his death. Pretending to him had been quite easy - they looked quite the same, hence the sibling fact - but acting like her "sister" was sick was the hardest. Sometimes she had to attend parties like herself, and had to wear a wig to hide the fact that she had cropped short her hair. It used to be down to her waist when she had been Andrea, but she had to cut it right above her ears and at the nape of her neck when she turned into Andrew._

_King Uther made a sympahetic face, and it angered her to know that it was a false sympathetic one. "That's truly horrible, Sir Andrew. Are you alright?" _No, I'm not - I never will be able to be alright_, she wanted desperately to spit out, but she did not do so, and instead shook her head sadly._

_"Alas, I am not, but at least the robber had been caught and killed. Unfortunately, I'll have to make do with this knowledge." She replied easily, allowing a few more tears to drip until she hastily wiped them away. After all, she knew from practice that the opposite gender never shed more than a few tears in front of company, especially Kings._

_"Well, my deepest sympathies, Sir Andrew," King Uther said, "Now - would you like to join me for something to eat before you go off with your knightly duties?" Though Andrea knew that King Uther wasn't asking her to join him, rather commanding her to. And so, with this final thought, she smiled lightly at him and obeyed King Uther's silent command by accepting his "request" and sitting on the other side of the long table._

* * *

Eating with King Uther had been a rather silent and tense affair, and Andrea was glad when the food was finished and the King had big her good day. Although, practice had already been completed, so Sir Andrew patrolled some and then went to the gardens, greeting a few manservants and maidservants warmly on the way.

Sighing, Andrea watched the sunset, taking in the beautiful dark and light hues.

No one disturbed her after Prince Arthur left, and she was glad to spend some time by herself, only her thoughts and the sunset to keep her company. And what great company they were indeed.

* * *

Andrea sighed, watching Prince Arthur duel with a boy - he couldn't be more than a year older than the Prince himself - who claimed to be the fifth son of some Earl, and shook her head when she saw Prince Arthur strike the poor boy down easily, and forced him to do stable duty.

"I mean, he might be the Prince of Camelot, but that wasn't the right etiquette to show a person at all - noble or not." Andrea said to herself, and approached the nobleman, holding her hand out for him. He gave her a gentle smile and grasped the hand, hauling herself up. Andrea almost stumbled, but managed to plant her feet firmly onto the ground.

"That was totally unfair of Prince Arthur to do - but, hey, what can I do?" Andrea said politely to him, and gave him a smile, "Nice to meet you - I'm Sir Andrew."

He nodded at her. "The pleasure is mine, Sir Andrew. I'm Lancelot."

"Soon to be Sir Lancelot, I'm sure." She said sincerely to him. Lancelot blushed.

"You're too kind, Sir Andrew." She laughed, trying her best to keep her voice low. No need to laugh high-pitched like a girl, or Lancelot might be suspicious of her. And she didn't want that - Lancelot seemed like a rather smashing man, if she'd say so herself.

Exactly like the type of person she would be interested in, but she couldn't grow attached to anyone here - much less a man who is to be a knight. That would ruin her cover. All she wanted was to serve as a knight here in Camelot - after all, one day, she would be returning back to her town and taking up her father's responsibilities as Earl.

Just then, a boy and a girl around Andrea's age approached them. They seemed to be a manservant and maidservant, by their peasant clothing. Andrea gave them warm smiles, and turned towards the manservant, having recongized him.

"You must be Prince Arthur's manservant, yes?" She asked as politely as she could. He seemed a bit thrown off, probably having thought that no knight would be so nice to him, much less look or talk to him. Heh - if only he knew the truth about her.

He nodded though, having regained some thought. "Yes - I am," He bowed, and the maidservant followed with a deep curtsey, "I'm Merlin - er, Prince Arthur's manservant. This is Gwen - or, ah, Guinevere - Lady Morgana's maidservant." Gwen gave her a warm smile.

"Nice to meet the two of you - Merlin, Gwen. My name is Sir Andrew. Now - I'm guessing you know Lancelot here. Am I right?" The two of them nodded in unison.

Lancelot then spoke up. "Well, I should get going. I have stable duties, after all."

Merlin gave him a pitying glance. "I'm so sorry, Lancelot. Ar-" He glanced nervously at Andrea, which she picked up, and then started up again, "Prince Arthur shouldn't have forced you into it."

Lancelot shook his head. "No, it's alright, Merlin. I'll do whatever it takes to be a knight." He told him strongly, and walked off.

Andrea, Merlin and Gwen watched him go.

"Lancelot will make a great knight - of this I am sure, Merlin. No worries at all, though, if Prince Arthur will give him another opportunity - I'll see if I can convince him. Lancelot is a fine nobleman, and would fulfill his knightly duties with precision." Andrea said to them as soon as the nobleman was out of sight.

Merlin looked over at her, shocked, and shook his head. "Oh, no, it's alright, Sir Andrew - I couldn't possibly ask that of you."

Andrea shook her head. "No, no, it's the least I could do for Lancelot. Like I said - he is a fine nobleman. I see a bit of me in him, actually. Not that I'm saying that I'm a great knight - I've made some mistakes in the beginning that landed me in the stocks regularly." Andrea laughed at something that wasn't actually at all funny. The stocks had been terrible - with the peasant children throwing vegetables, rocks, whatever they could get their chubby little hands on at her. Prince Arthur had been so displeased with her as well, and worked her from morning to night, until she was soaked in dirt, grass and sweat, panting like she had ran for most of the day - which she most days would have to do.

Gwen gave her a smile. "Oh, thank you, Sir Andrew. That's awfully kind of you."

Andrea laughed. "No need to thank me, Guinevere. I'm merely helping out a friend. Anyways, I shall see the two of you around more often, then." She nodded respectfully at them and walked off towards where Prince Arthur had gone, trying to come up with pleasantries that she could use to put Lancelot in the Prince's good graces. She knew that it would not be an easy task, though.

Ir would be quite difficult, but when she had been training to become a knight, she knew that she would've wanted some of the knights or even one to help her along - either by giving her tips or putting in good words for her. Of course, none of them had, and so she decided that she would do so for Lancelot.

He reminded her of herself, after all - courageous, willing and energetic, along with the love he had for becoming a knight. All of the things Andrea herself had - and still did _(Truthfully, even when she was little she wanted to become a knight, but that was something women nor girls couldn't do)_.

Finally, she made it to the place Prince Arthur had walked off to - the gardens, where Andrea herself had been yesterday, basking in the sun's glory. Wiping some perspiration off of her forehead, she strode as confidently as she could towards the Prince.

"Sire?" She called out softly, and watched as Prince Arthur stood more rigid, though didn't turn towards her. But she knew that he was now listening.

"I came here to talk about Lancelot - the noble who just sent to stable duty."

Prince Arthur sighed tiredly. "Yes, Sir Andrew? What about him?" He snapped impatiently, back still to her.

Andrea cleared her throat lightly, willing herself to stay calm. Lancelot's future might as well depend on her. "Well, Sire, I believe that he should be given another fair chance. I see a lot of potential in him, and believe that he could be a great knight if you put some trust in him - if you allow yourself to see his true potential..." Andrea trailed off when Prince Arthur whipped around, eyes furious, and stepped so close to her that she could feel every breath that left his mouth. She forced herself not to back away, and instead stood her ground defiantly.

"Are you trying to tell me that I was unjust and unfair to Lancelot? Are you implying that I didn't give him a chance, _Sir Andrew_? Do remember that I gave _you_ a chance; that I worked hard on _you_ and granted you knighthood that I believed that you deserved? I never gave up on _you_, never was unfair or unjust to _you_, _so do not_, under any circumstance, try and tell me how to fulfill my responsibilities and obligations as _Prince of Camelot_, Sir Andrew." Prince Arthur whispered threateningly.

Andrea sighed. "Sire, that was not my intention -" He cut her off rudely.

"Good, Sir Andrew." And with that he walked away from her, aiming to get out of the gardens and into the castle. But Andrew was not going to allow him to go this easily. She was a knight, damn it, and she didn't care if he was the Prince of Camelot, a higher authority than she, a knight, was. She knew what responsibilities and obligations he had, and she knew Lancelot's true worth, while it seemed like Pince Arthur didn't.

"I have to admit, Prince Arthur, that you saw potential in me. I have to admit that you worked hard on me, that you gave me a chance. I have to also admit that you granted me knighthood, but this is _not_ something you did for Lancelot, and not something you're thinking of doing for him, no doubt. Yes, I have seen how many men and boys come here, looking to become knights when that is not what they are to be, and I believe that Lancelot _is not_ one of them. Though I am not you, Sire, and so all I can say is that you give Lancelot a chance, like you had given me. If you try and see the potential in him, then you'll realize like I have that he deserves to be a knight. And that is all I wanted to say, Sire." Andrea finished, licking her dry lips, watching the Prince's back warily, hand on his sword. She was sure that he would try and use it on her - not to try and kill her of course, but to try and shake her up a little bit by pointing it at her.

And try to do so on her Prince Arthur did.

He drew his sword out quick, but she was quicker, having had a hand on her sword in the beginning, and when he turned around, hand gripping his sword tightly, he found her holding her sword against his neck. She kept her gaze on him, trying to keep it as cold as his gaze on her was, and managed to do so. Prince Arthur sighed, and then placed his sword back in its followed his motion, and placed her sword back in its scabbard as well.

After doing so, the Prince turned around and walked away, and didn't turn around to look at her even once.

Andrea's shoulders sagged, and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. She shook her head, then headed inside the castle herself. The girl had a feeling that she had struck a chord within the Prince, but she also had a feeling that she might've given Lancelot what he wanted most - a second chance. It might be a fair one, it might not, but Andrea had done all that she could, and could only hope the best for Lancelot.

"My prayers are with you, Lancelot," Andrea whispered to herself when she reached her room, "I pray that, the next time I shall see you, you won't be Lancelot, but _Sir_ Lancelot instead."

* * *

**Silent Knight: Y'know, I always thought that someone - ahem, Merlin, Gwen, Morgana even - should've gone up to Arthur and told him that he should give Lancelot a second chance, because I don't see him coming to that decision all by himself. And so, that's why I decided that, in this story, it should be Andrea/Sir Andrew to be the one to do this. It's a bit weird for her to do this when she has just met Lancelot, but she sees herself when she first came to Camelot and asked to become a knight in him, so of course she'd help him out. Plus, she's a considerate girl an' all. ;)**

**Hopefully that makes sense, and you guys liked this chapter. Who liked the intense Arthur/Andrea stare-down/talk at the end? I liked writing it. lol Much more of Arthur/Andrea to come, along with a side of one-sided Morgana/Sir Andrew(Andrea). lol ^.^ Please...review if you liked it/didn't like it/have a suggestion/have a comment/have a question/etc.**

**Now, please enjoy a little insight on the next chapter, **_Sir Lancelot At Last_**...**

_Andrea then set her eyes back on Sir Lancelot and Prince Arthur, and was surprised to see Prince Arthur staring right at her. It was a burning gaze, really. Not that he was angry towards her, but...she wasn't sure exactly what the gaze was filled with, but she was almost confident that it wasn't an anger-filled gaze..._

_"Lady Morgana - it's wonderful to meet you again." But in reality, it truly wasn't. She believed that Lady Morgana fancied her, and by believed, Andrea meant she knew..._

_"Well, Gwen, have you talked at all to Merlin about the fact that you fancy him?" Andrea asked, trying to sound casual, taking a sip of her ale. Gwen's eyes widened, and Lady Morgana turned towards her, mouth gaping wide..._

_And every now and then his gaze would go over to Sir Andrew - he liked to think it was because he had hot-and-cold feelings towards the knight, but Arthur was sure he kept on lookingat him for another reason._

_But what was it?..._

**Until next time. =)**

**Silent Knight over and out!**


	3. Sir Lancelot At Last

_Title: Knightess_

_Summary: First in a series. Sir Andrew...a knight like no other. But this knight has an astonishing secret...Sir Andrew is actually a she! And because of this secret, both Morgana and Arthur fall for her! Oops? ArthurxOC, MerlinxGwen_

_Genre: Fantasy, Romance_

_Rating: T_

**Silent Knight: Well, chapter two is finally here! Everyone excited? Everyone pumped? I hope so! This chapter doesn't at all follow the episode **"Lancelot," **in the the TV Show, but it **does **have Arthea, with some triangle-love - Andrea(Andrew)/Arthur/Morgana, of course - as well. Merlin/Gwen is present as well, as the 'Next on **_Knightess_**' at the end of last chapter had shown you all. :)**

**Since Arthur has bi-polar-ness in the TV Show, I decided to show this in this fanfic as well. Hopefully you guys don't feel he's too OOC because of this, because he's meant to be IC because of the fact he has hot-and-cold emotions. Also, I'm aware that Morgana might not seem In Character enough to some of you; frankly, I don't have a good grasp of her character for some reason. Please don't hate because of that!**

**And, yes, this story **does** follow the TV Show's plot...**a lot**, but it does have some original chapters thrown in here every now and then, as well as the Ergon-arc that you had seen a glimpse of in the prologue. So **_Knightess_** will alternate between being original and **_Merlin_**-esque. Hope you all don't mind! =)**

**Remember - I don't own anything that you guys may remember from the TV Show. Original characters, Ergon and everything else you don't remember from the TV Show is rightfully mine.**

**Anywho - enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

**Knightess**

**Chapter 2: S****ir Lancelot At Last**

Her prayers seemed to have worked, for, when she saw Lancelot again, he wasn't actually Lancelot anymore, but Sir Lancelot. It was at a celebration that she saw him next - a celebration to celebrate his knighthood, which reminded her much of her own, though it had been her who people had been surrounding and conversing with. Andrea smiled happily nonetheless, watching him from afar. She was surprised, but happily so, to see the Prince interacting so warmly with Sir Lancelot. It seemed that he decided to put his faith in him and saw his true potential after all, much like Andrea herself had done.

From across the room, she saw Merlin and Gwen talking with one another, and it seemed like Gwen was..._leaning_ towards Merlin. Andrea smirked - it seemed like Gwen fancied the manservant, but it also seemed that he was too much of an idiot to realize it.

She rolled her eyes at this. "Men - so oblivious to a woman's feelings." She whispered lightly to herself, taking a sip of the cool ale that she grasped tightly in her hand. Ah, another reason to be a knight. Women weren't exactly "supposed to" drink ale - at least, not in front of anyone. It was a bit depressing, really, but whatever. As long as Andrea could sip some every now and then - she didn't think that becoming drunk and mistakenly revealing her huge secret would be too much of a good thing for her health - she didn't care much whether or not other women could or could not drink ale.

Andrea then set her gaze back on Sir Lancelot and Prince Arthur, and was surprised to see Prince Arthur staring right at her. It was a burning gaze, really. Not that he was angry towards her, but...she wasn't sure exactly what the gaze was filled with, but she was almost confident that it wasn't an anger-filled gaze.

She continued to hold his gaze, and watched silently as he excused himself and began to walk purposefully in her direction. That was when she tore her gaze from him, looking around to see if Lady Morgana or any of the other Ladies were around her, though she didn't see them anywhere, but rather right across the room from her. Perhaps he was walking so confidently towards another knight, or someone else?

But that thought flew out the window when he stopped right in front of her, and said, "Sir Andrew." She bowed, keeping in mind to not tip over her cup full of ale as well, and then straightened respectfully.

"Sire - it's good to see you again." Andrea said to him, but it was a half-life, really. Prince Arthur seemed to think so too, for a corner of his lip curled up in amusement.

"I could say the same to you, Sir Andrew," And then Prince hesitated, looking about awkwardly before locking his gaze with her again, "I came here to...well, apologize for being so...cold and un-Princely to you before. It had been my intention at the time, but I meant you no harm or disrespect - I realized that, uh, it was wrong for me to say such degrading things to you. It is not how a proper Prince should behave to his royal subject, after all."

She nodded at him, smiling sincerely. "It is quite alright, Sire, and I should apologize as well. A true knight wouldn't have -" He interrupted her then, much like before, but with more feeling - well, a positive feeling, anyway.

"Pardon me for interrupting, but I do believe that you showed true knight behaviour," He sighed tiredly then, "Well - I was wrong to have judged Lancelot - er, Sir Lancelot now I suppose - so rudely, and had little regard over his true potential. Potential that you had managed to see. You were just trying to show me that as well, and I was rude and indifferent to you instead of trying to see the same potential you saw. But now I see it in him, Sir Andrew, and I would like to thank you for assisting me in seeing it. You truly opened my eyes, and for that I am grateful." It was rather surprising how rude, cocky and arrogant Prince Arthur could be at times, but how warm, humble and polite the next. Andrea never understood his hot-and-cold personality, and she was sure that if she even tried to she would go absolutely insane. All she knew was that the warm, humble and polite Prince Arthur was standing in front of her, that she was attracted to him when she certainly shouldn't be, and that _God, had his eyes always been so _blue?

But she slapped that pesky part of her out of her mind, and gave Prince Arthur a polite smile, and then watched as he, once again, walked away from her.

"I can't think like this," She whispered feebly, watching as he started talking to his father, King Uther, "Why did I come to Camelot in the first place? To be Sir Andrew, to become a knight, to get training from the best knight there was, Prince Arthur, and to observe how King Uther and Prince Arthur rule over Camelot so expertly...King Uther more the Prince," She couldn't help but add, "...King Uther more than the Prince, of course." And that was it - nothing else. There was no reason to become attracted to him - after a few more years she'll most likely leave Camelot and perhaps never come back.

After all, King Uther and her father, Earl Wigum, weren't exactly friends, either. She wondered why the King didn't just send her packing right then and there, but eventually decided not to dwell on this fact.

Instead, she sipped more ale, and then watched Sir Lancelot and Prince Arthur converse some more, all the while trying in vain to ignore that weird feeling coiling in the pit of her stomach as Prince Arthur laughed as he said something to the new knight, flicking some of his corn-silk hair away from his eyes.

"Sir Andrew!" Called a woman from behind her. When she turned, she was face to face with Lady Morgana, who stood there, smiling pleasantly at her. Andrea smiled back, and then bowed.

"Lady Morgana - it's wonderful to meet with you again." But in reality, it truly wasn't. She believed that Lady Morgana fancied her, and by believed, Andrea meant she knew. It was rather obvious, but she sent not-too-subtle hints, and because of this Prince Arthur turned ruthless towards her when they practiced. It was obvious that Prince Arthur felt _some_thing for Lady Morgana, and the same for Lady Morgana, but she was always toying with the poor Prince _(Though he was anything but poor - literally and fugitively)_.

Lady Morgana smiled wider at this, toying with her dress. "Really? Well, that's rather wondrous in itself, is it not?" Ah, another subtle attempt to trap her - too bad "Sir Andrew" was un-trappable by the ladies; though little did they know that the reason "Sir Andrew" was un-trappable by them was because of the fact "Sir Andrew" was not a he, but a she. Andrea wanted to laugh, but held it back, like she always did when thinking about her "un-trappable" status in public. It _was_ rather amusing, after all.

"Yes, I believe so, Lady Morgana." Andrea said politely.

"So...how do you feel about Sir Lancelot? Isn't he rather...dashing?" Gosh no - an attempt to see if she would be jealous of the poor knight or not.

_Too bad, Lady Morgana. It'll take a lot more than that to make me jealous_, Andrea thought amusingly to herself. "Well, I do not like men in that way, if that's what you're wondering, Lady Morgana," She teased, "But, yes, I suppose that for you women he would be considered dashing." Lady Morgana laughed, but she could see that she was disappointed. _Prince Arthur might have been jealous had you asked him what you had to me, but, alas, I am not Prince Arthur._

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Gwen showed up, and in her hands was a jewel-encrusted cup, which she offered to Lady Morgana. "You ale, Lady Morgana," Gwen whispered, then turned towards Andrea and curtsied, "Sir Andrew, we meet again."

She nodded to acknowledge her, even gave her a tiny smile that made the maidservant blush, and then turned towards Lady Morgana, "Ale, my Lady?" She implored. The brunette laughed, nodded, taking a bold sip from her cup.

"Yes, ale. Do you have a problem with that, noble knight?" She teased, taking another sip, this one longer, just to prove her point. Andrea snorted, which would've been un-lady-like had there not been the fact that she was Sir Andrew, noble knight, in front of Lords, Ladies, other royalties, servants and knights alike.

Lady Morgana and Andrea had a small laugh over this, and from the corner of her eye she noticed Gwen laughing softly along with them as well, though she was trying to cover up the fact that she was doing so.

"Well, Gwen, have you talked at all to Merlin about the fact that you fancy him?" Andrea said, trying to sound casual, taking a sip from her ale. Gwen's eyes widened, and Lady Morgana turned towards her, mouth gaping wide.

"You like Merlin, Gwen? How come you never told me?" Gwen sputtered helplessly.

"I-I...n-never told an-anyone, Lady Morgana." Gwen replied hastily, her eyes lowering. Even though her skin was rather dark, it was obvious that she was blushing. Andrea could tell this easily.

Lady Morgana turned over to Andrea, amusement and confusion in her eyes. "And just _how_ did you realize this, Sir Andrew?" She shrugged her shoulders, giving the two woman a rather mysterious expression.

"...I have my ways." Both of them burst into laughter, though Gwen was still blushing. From the corner of her eye, she saw a furious-looking Prince Arthur striding towards them and a rather indifferent Merlin stumbling after him. Andrea groaned inwardly - make a girl laugh and it seems like you're courting her. Men were so childish that it wasn't even funny.

_Would Andrew have been like this - so possessive and jealous - had he been alive and fancied someone from the court? _Andrea immediately shoved this thought away and instead focused on bowing to Prince Arthur. "Sire...Merlin." She said respectfully when addressing the Prince, but more casually when addressing the manservant. Prince Arthur nodded stiffly while Merlin gave her an awkward smile.

"Sir Andrew, Lady Morgana." The Prince replied. He ignored Gwen, of course, but then again most of the royals ignored manservants and maidservants who were not their personal servants - Andrea and a handful of other royals were the only ones who even acknowledged servants who were not their own.

Merlin walked over to Gwen, and the two of them started their own little conversation, Gwen blushing harder, probably thinking about the small conversation she had had with Lady Morgana and Andrea. Andrea wished to desperately join in, but couldn't.

"If you paid more attention, Arthur, you'd notice that Gwen, too, was laughing along with us." Lady Morgana said, giving him a pointed look.

"Yes, yes, of course. Guinevere. Now, what were you laughing about?"

"I assure you Sire, it was nothing that had anything to do with you." Andrea added a bit of a teasing tone in there that Prince Arthur definitely noticed, for he glared at her angrily. Hey - a little bit of teasing never hurt anyone...nor did it land anyone in the stocks, either. Lady Morgana put a hand over her mouth to not burst out laughing while Andrea only smiled.

"I'm sure." He drawled, then turned over to Lady Morgana, giving Andrea a cold shoulder. She only smiled to herself, shook her head and made her way towards Sir Lancelot, who seemed to be looking over at...oh no - he was looking over at Gwen and Merlin as they talked with one another.

Andrea snuck up behind him stealthily. "Fancy Guinevere, do you, _Sir_ Lancelot?" Sir Lancelot turned around hastily, face white with shock and panic, to look at her, who stood there rather _innocently_, mind you. "Yes. That's right. You're dirty little secret is out in the open - well, at least, to me."

Sir Lancelot sighed. "Well, yes. I guess I do...fancy her. She is beautiful, after all." He admitted then, running a hand through his hair.

Andrea chuckled lowly. "Yes - she _is_ a beauty," She chuckled harder when Sir Lancelot swung a suspicious glance at her, "Oh, no, no - I do not fancy her, Sir Lancelot. No worries about that, my friend."

His shoulders sagged. "Oh. Good. If you did, I was sure that there would be no chance for me to...court her. I mean - you are much better, much nobler than me," He whispered the next bit under his breath, "Much nobler than me, indeed." _(He means that "Sir Andrew" has noble blood, and he himself doesn't)_ Andrea was curious as to what he meant, but decided not to ask.

"Please Sir Lancelot - I may be noble, but as are you, and just now Lady Morgana was talking about you. She seems to be quite taken with you." Sir Lancelot blushed at this, which caused Andrea to start laughing again. It seemed to be as easy to make his blush as it was for her to make Gwen laugh and/or blush. She knew that, if Gwen liked him like Sir Lancelot liked her, that they would make a good pairing. But, alas, Gwen fancied Merlin. Though Merlin in his own way was rather handsome, she supposed. Klutzy and awkward, yes, that he was, but that in a way highlighted his boyish charm.

If Andrea was not of noble blood, and was not Sir Andrew, perhaps she would've tried to court Merlin. After all, there was a...aura of mystery shrouding that boy. Something that made him different than other manservants.

Far more different.

* * *

Arthur was furious - furious at Morgana, at Sir Andrew - at everyone, really. Why was Morgana so..._difficult_? Wasn't it obvious that he fancied her? Yet she was always running towards someone else, whether it be Sir Andrew or some other man. What next? She'd start fancying _Merlin_?

He wanted to grip his hair and tear it off in his frustration, but instead plastered a false smile an conversed as politely as he could with Morgana, though fuming inside all the while. And every now and then his gaze would go over to Sir Andrew - he liked to think it was because he had hot-and-cold feelings for the knight, and because he was his so-called "opponent" in his _quest_ to get Morgana's heart, but Arthur was sure he kept looking at him for another reason.

But...what was it?

He didn't know exactly, and no matter what he tried, he couldn't realize why. Unfortunately for Arthur, this only added to his frustrations.

It seemed like all of Camelot was out for him today...

* * *

**Silent Knight: ...and there we have it. Chapter two. Hope you guys enjoyed it and the length and didn't think it to be too short for your liking! :) I'm trying my best to keep these chapters as lengthy as possible for you all. The longest chapter, in my opinion, is eleven/twelve pages in Microsoft. How's **that** for lengthy-ness? ;)**

**Please review, alert, favourite, and whatnot. Spread the word about this fanfic, and urge others to read if you enjoyed this as much as I hope you did/do/will continue to.**

**And now, another insight, but this time on the next chapter,**_ Everyone Loves Sword Fights_**...**

_Sir Andrew chose that moment to smirk deviously, and Arthur felt his heart actually skip a beat. Sweat broke out, and he was surprised as to why this happened. Why was he feeling so..._weird_, all of a sudden?..._

_"Well, then - who's next?"_

_"Looks like you'll have to settle for me, Sir Andrew."_

_"It'll be my pleasure to duel against you, Sire."..._

_Sir Lancelot came closer to her, head dipping down. Andrea felt her eyes widen, her heart race in her chest..._

_Although, today, seeing Sir Lancelot so close to the other knight...it sparked _jealousy_ in him. But why? Because he didn't have the sort of companionship that Sir Andrew and Sir Lancelot had? Or that he wanted Sir Andrew to be his own friend, and not Sir Lancelot's?_

_Arthur had no idea, and this angered him greatly. "Nothing is making sense these days."..._

**The future for **_Knightess_** is looking good, is it not? And the Lancelot/Andrea kiss! Does this happen? Does it not? You'll have to find out, won't you? ;)**

**Until next time, my lovelies.**

**Silent Knight over and out!**


	4. Everybody Loves Sword Fights

_Title: Knightess_

_Summary: First in a series. Sir Andrew...a knight like no other. But this knight has an astonishing secret...Sir Andrew is actually a she! And because of this secret, both Morgana and Arthur fall for her! Oops?_

_Genre: Fantasy, Romance_

_Rating: T_

**Silent Knight: Sorry for the long delay, but finally - here it is! I edited it a bit, made some revisions, and then it was reading for your reading pleasure. Hopefully you enjoy! And now we can finally find out about the kiss between Lancelot and Andrea. Does it happen? Does it not? Read on to find out!**

**But do remember that I only own my OCs, and part of this story's plot **_(only part of the plot that has to do with Andrea and her knight status; nothing else)_**.** **That's pretty much it. :)**

* * *

**Knightess**

**Chapter 3: ****Everybody Loves Sword Fights**

"Mer_lin_!" Arthur shouted, running a tired hand over his face in irritation. The idiot was nowhere to be found, and Arthur was getting a bit worried, though he was sure he hated that slacker of a manservant. But still, he found himself getting anxious, wondering where Merlin might possibly be…and if he was, well, _alright_, Arthur supposed.

"Prince Arthur – I believe that you are looking for Merlin?" The blond turned around to see Sir Andrew. He stared at the knight warily, then nodded his head slowly. Anxiousness began to climb down then. Perhaps Sir Andrew knew where that _idiot_ was. "Well, he's running an errand for your father, King Uther, currently. I was just in the throne room – I believe he was asked to bring him his food. King Uther's servants are cleaning his room currently; it's in complete disarray, it seems." Arthur frowned, already knowing why.

His father liked to...bring women over to his room...at _night_. Of course, you should know what this means. Arthur sighed, and nodded slowly.

"Alright then – thank you for letting me know, Sir Andrew. I thought the idiot was slacking off again." Well, that was partially it, but he wasn't going to tell him that he was actually _worried_. How embarrassing would _that _be, to admit that to a fellow knight?

Sir Andrew chose that moment to smirk deviously, and Arthur felt his heart actually skip a beat. Sweat broke out, and he was surprised as to why this happened. Why was feeling so..._weird_, all of a sudden?

"You were worried for him, weren't you?" The knight asked, raising his eyebrow, as if daring him to lie to him.

Arthur snorted half-heartedly. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Sir Andrew." Sir Andrew chuckled, and Arthur found himself blushing darkly at this, tingles shooting up and down his spine as he felt his heart strings tug because of the knight's _husky and low _laugh. Perhaps this was why women fancied him –

Whoa, whoa! _What _was that? Arthur absolutely _did not _fancy Sir Andrew! Definitely _not_...right?

"I'm sure you don't." And with that, he bid him farewell, and Arthur silently watched as the knight walked away, heart beating strangely fast. This had been happening for a long while now, ever since he had first seen the determination in his eyes. When Sir Andrew had come to Camelot on the quest to become a knight, he had seen that steely determination, and it had moved him like nothing else in the world had before. It had scared him at first, because he had no idea what that warm, strange feeling in the pit of his stomach was.

And yet he still didn't know what it was, and though sometimes he thought it might be love or a strange attraction, Arthur at times thought that perhaps it was respect. Does respect feel warm, happy, positive? When someone had respect for you it felt that way, but what if you were the one giving that respect to someone else? Was it the same? Would someone describe it like that? Arthur wasn't sure, for he never asked anyone, because he liked to keep this feeling to himself. It felt...good, to keep it to himself, and he was greedy, you could say. He _wanted _to keep it to himself, to not tell anyone, to not share it with someone.

"_God_...I'm one _messed _up man." Arthur whispered to himself, running a hand through his hair. With that, he turned around and began to walk towards his chambers. Maybe if he slept it off – he woke up early because he couldn't sleep, but he definitely thought he should get some shut eye. It might help the feeling vanish – for, it might feel good, but it made him feel so frustrated and _confused_, because, first, he had no idea why he felt that strange, warm feeling. And, second, he only felt it around Sir Andrew, which made the situation rather...awkward, really.

But when he opened the door to his room, he saw Merlin with his back to him. Upon hearing the door open, Merlin clumsily turned around, and the tray which held Arthur's food in his hands slipped from his hands and clattered noisily onto the floor. Both men flinched at the sharp sound. Arthur glared at his manservant, and didn't stop glaring until Merlin got to his knees and began to clean up the food that was now splattered onto the floor.

"...idiot." Arthur grumbled to himself, but inwardly glad to see his manservant fine and well, sleep forgotten. He instead sat down on a chair and stared into space, thinking about sword fighting tactics to teach his men next.

All thoughts of the strange feeling he had felt around Sir Andrew completely vanished by this point.

* * *

Arthur watched as Sir Andrew wiped a thin layer of sweat off of his brow, and then placed his helmet on. He watched him walk over to the defeated knight, pull up the visor of his helmet and give the man a positive smile, then extend a hand for him to grip. The knight only frowned at him, grabbed his helmet, which had fallen off of his head when he had been duelling with Sir Andrew, and got up without using his hand. Sir Andrew raised an eyebrow at him, shrugged and then lowered his hand.

"Well, then – who's next?" Sir Andrew asked rather cheerfully. No one answered.

"Looks like you'll have to settle for me, Sir Andrew." Arthur stated, giving him a smirk.

Sir Andrew laughed gaily, then bowed. "It'll be my pleasure to duel against you, Sire. It's been a while since our last one." Arthur frowned at that, remembering the last duel they had had. Sir Andrew had won that time, and he swore to himself that he would win the next one. And now he was going to be able to fulfill that promise today.

Arthur nodded at him, then bowed as well, which was a rare occurrence. "Yes – it has, hasn't it?" He asked stiffly, his pride still wounded by Sir Andrew winning from before. The blasted knight smirked, no doubt knowing what he was thinking, and why he was being so rude currently.

"Well then...shall we?" Arthur nodded, and they drew their swords and took their respective stances. And then, the duel began, with both parties blocking the other's blows. It was an intricate dance they were partaking in; dodges and blows, twirls and jumps. Sir Andrew and Arthur circled one another, swords level to their faces, faces hidden by their helmets.

Arthur swooped in then, unexpectedly like he had hoped, and struck Sir Andrew in the right shoulder blade. He went down then, but kept a tight grip on his sword so it was still in his hand when he fell, which meant that he easily blocked the blow Arthur had been hoping to hit him with. He pushed him back using his sword, then with some difficulty got up and aimed a blow back on him. Arthur blocked this one, and then aimed one at him as quick as he could.

Sir Andrew went down once more, this time his sword clattering out of his hand, just a bit out of reach. As he tried to wiggle over to grab it, he stopped when Arthur rested his sword right on where his neck would be. The Prince stood there like that for a few seconds, letting that feeling of check mate rush over the knight, and then backed off. He extended a hand for the young knight, and hauled him quite easily up. Arthur was rather surprised at how light he was but made no comment about it.

The knight took off his helmet and gave the Prince a smile. "That was great, your Highness." He said sincerely.

He took off his own helmet and gave him a small smile. "Thank you. You did great too, Sir Andrew. Lasted longer than I thought you would, to be truthful." The two then shook hands, and Arthur felt wondrous to know that he managed to keep his promise. He had defeated Sir Andrew this time, and it felt amazing to hold this victory over the knight.

And then he turned towards the rest of his men. "Knights – assemble." Immediately they assembled, standing in their lines. Sir Andrew stood directly in front of him, Sir Lancelot beside him.

"Alright, knights – now, as you may know, the griffin is fast approaching Camelot, and we all need to be ready to face it. We have to practice daily, and keep going for our rounds in Camelot to see if the griffin will be arriving – when and where. We'll meet early in the mornings, in the afternoon and late at night as usual. Remember this well, and do remember to go for your respected rounds. Slacking off isn't a luxury we are able to have – nor will be able to have in the future, mind you," Soft, uneasy laughs came from the knights, "Well, let's start with our new battle strategy. This one is purely for the griffin, and it has us to all be in a half-circle. I'll be directly in the middle; Sir Andrew will be at my rear and..."

* * *

Andrea was currently looking up at the setting sun, thinking rather deeply. Soon, it was going to be time for practice once more. She wondered idly if they would be able to kill the griffin. At first, she had thought it was some big joke – from what she remembers, a griffin was a mythical creature, so it made no sense of there being a living, breathing griffin being the "thing" that was attacking Camelot. But when she had seen it far off in the distance, attacking a small village on the outskirts of Camelot, she knew that it had to be the work of magic. There was no other way for it to be alive when it was supposed to be a mythical creature.

"Why is magic suddenly sprouting off like mad fire in Camelot?" Andrea said aloud to herself. No answer came – just the brief chirping of birds, a few crickets, and that was all.

She sighed, sitting down on a lone log that had fallen, and watched the sunset, feeling the same calm she always felt watching the sunset settle in. Andrea smiled, taking in the wide array of warm colours that filled the horizon. To just imagine that...that sky was seen by everyone and that everyone in the world might even be watching this filled her up with this _feeling_...that she wasn't alone, that there were people out there along with her in this world. A lot more than there were in Camelot, for sure.

"Looking at the sunset, Sir Andrew?" Andrea turned around to see Lady Morgana and Prince Arthur standing beside her.

She got up from the log and bowed to them both. "Lady Morgana, Prince Arthur – welcome. And, yes, Lady Morgana, I like watching the sunset every day. I never realized that it was so...serene – even calming, you could say." Andrea answered truthfully.

Lady Morgana gave her a smile, then turned her gaze towards the setting sun. "Ah, yes – I sometimes come out here to watch it as well myself."

"Really? No one that I've asked has done so. It's refreshing to know that there's someone else who watches it as well, no matter how _boring _it is, as some say." Lady Morgana laughed, while Prince Arthur looked stoic.

"Morgana, stop lying to Sir Andrew. You _know _that you don't watch the sunset." Prince Arthur rolled his eyes. Andrea raised her eyebrows at the Prince, then turned her confused gaze over to Lady Morgana, who was blushing and glaring angrily over at Prince Arthur. She turned her gaze over to her and stammered feebly, trying to come up with some sort of excuse._ Lying...a new level Lady Morgana seems to have stooped at_, Andrea thought dryly to herself as Lady Morgana continued to stutter and stammer.

On the outside, as Sir Andrew, the nicest knight in Camelot, or so they think, she laughed gaily. "Oh that's alright, Lady Morgana. You don't need to lie to make conversation with me. And it's alright if you lied – its fine. Really." She assured her. And it was. Andrea didn't care much, but did think of it to be a bit shallow and stupid of a move to take to get on Sir Andrew's good side.

She saw Lady Morgana subtly take a breath of relief, and from the corner of her eye saw Prince Arthur glaring at her. What a stupid, demented fairy tale this was – the Prince wanting the Lady, the Lady wanting the knight and the knight actually a girl and having a small attraction towards the Prince. It seemed like God hated her.

Andrea looked back at the sky, and then smiled over at Prince Arthur. "Well, Sire, I think it's time for practice, right?" He stared at her for a few moments as if it was the first time he had seen her standing there, and then nodded stiffly.

"Yes, Sir Andrew. Practice begins soon. You can go to our usual meeting place – I need to exchange a few parting words with Lady Morgana and then I will meet you there." Andrea nodded, bowed at the two royals and stalked off, head held high.

After a couple of polite words with a few maidservants – who all giggled and blushed, not able to get over the fact that they were exchanging personal words with a knight of all people – Andrea made it to the training ground and walked into the changing tent that held all the armour for the knights, where she met up with Sir Lancelot.

"Ah, Sir Lancelot, you again. So, tell me, how does it feel to be a full-fledged knight? I'm afraid I've forgotten the honourable feeling I had felt when I first became one." Andrea said truthfully to him, grabbing her armour and slipping it on with practiced ease. Sir Lancelot was awkwardly placing his own on, and then grabbed his helmet and stared happily down at it, awe so easily displayed on his face. She could see his back straightening, his head slowly moving up higher, and saw him puffing out his chest, and she remembered herself doing the same the first few times she had come for practice, and warmth and pride flew through her, the feeling rushing back all of a sudden.

Andrea laughed. "It's alright, Sir Lancelot – no need to explain it to me anymore. I can see it in your face, in your posture. I'm sure it's quite an honour, isn't it?"

Sir Lancelot nodded his head. "Yes. I-I've always wanted to be a knight when I was young, and now...to actually become one after so much wishing and dreaming...it's wonderful. I'm filled with joy and can't think of anywhere else to be, Sir Andrew. And Prince Arthur told me about your kind words and that it was because of you he gave me another chance, and I just wanted to –" Andrea cut him off skilfully, chuckling.

"Thank me? No need to, Sir Lancelot. I'm already happy with seeing you as a knight – that's all the thanks I need. I was glad to help a dear friend of mine – you are truly one person that should be a knight. You _deserve_ to be one, Sir Lancelot, so no worries. You don't need to pay me back or thank me." She told him, patting him on the back. Sir Lancelot seemed to be tearing up a bit, and he blinked crazily, trying to clear the tears away, laughing sadly.

He came closer to her, head dipping down. Andrea felt her eyes widen, her heart race. Was he trying to...?

"I don't actually deserve this," He murmured softly to her, "I-I'm not a noble like you, you see. I...I'm just a peasant with a dream to become a knight. Merlin helped me with the nobility status. And I...I understand if you want to tell Prince Arthur the truth. To be truthful, I just didn't want to lie to you about my nobility when we are meant to be friends and not to harbour any secrets as degrading as mine." Sir Lancelot looked away from her, ashamed, and Andrea felt a pang in her chest at the last sentence. She had a degrading secret as well – one that was even more degrading than his. Perhaps it was finally time to tell someone.

"Sir Lancelot, I won't tell Prince Arthur anything. Like I told you, you deserve to be a knight, and I'm standing by this statement. I don't care if you are a noble or a peasant – you'll still be my friend no matter who you are or where you come from," Andrea told him truthfully, paused and then started again in a low whisper, "Now, I need to tell you something about myself. I'm –"

"_Sir Andrew. Sir Lancelot." _Came a low, anger-filled voice from behind them. They turned to see Prince Arthur standing there, dressed in armour, a helmet clutched in his hand. His free hand was clenched into a fist. They stepped away from one another, realizing how close they were standing. From behind, where Prince Arthur was standing, it almost seemed like they were...Andrea stopped herself from thinking this. That probably wasn't what Prince Arthur was thinking – well, hopefully not, anyway.

"Sire." Andrea and Sir Lancelot said in perfect unison, bowing deeply before straightening up once more.

Prince Arthur gave both knights a hard look, eyes lingering longer on Sir Lancelot, even squinting harder at him. Sir Lancelot shifted uneasily on his feet, eyes lowering, back slouching. All of the pride seemed to be seeping out of him, leaving his defeated form. Andrea watched with sad eyes, but averted her gaze from Sir Lancelot when she saw Prince Arthur settle his gaze on her. His eyes seemed to be trying to sear themselves into her skin, making sweat break out from under her arms. But, finally, he stopped with the glaring.

"So? Why are you two just standing here? Get out of here and assemble yourselves!" Sir Lancelot and Andrea flinched in unison, then began to stumble out of the tent they had been in. They got into position like the other knights, standing in their respective places in the line, and waited for Prince Arthur to come out of the tent as well.

"Why do I have a feeling that we'll be doing harder work than we were originally meant to?" Andrea whispered to Sir Lancelot, who was positioned right next to her.

He looked down at her, and smiled kindly. "Probably because you're right." He answered, but sharply looked up when the clanking of armour was heard, and Prince Arthur emerged from the tent; face even more stoic than before. His eyes settled on Sir Lancelot and Andrea, and hardened.

"Sir Lancelot, please switch places with Sir Owain." Sir Owain looked a bit startled, but bowed to Prince Arthur and walked towards Sir Lancelot. Said knight smiled in greeting at him and walked towards where Sir Owain had been standing previously. Andrea sighed to herself, and then smiled at Sir Owain so he didn't feel too awkward around her. Sir Owain smiled back, and the two of them turned their attention back to Prince Arthur, who began spewing commands left and right.

_Oh boy._

* * *

"What is _happening _to me?" Arthur roared as he burst into his chambers, slamming his hand against the cold stone wall, his palm immediately starting to sting in pain. He grimaced, but didn't cry out in pain. When he saw Sir Andrew and Sir Lancelot so..._close_, it spurred something in him, and anger tumbled out of him in huge waves for no reason he could think of. "Why? Why is it like this...? This is so _unfair_!"

"Sire – are you alright?" Arthur whirled around to see a confused and alarmed Merlin standing there, holding his clothes, which looked fresh and wrinkle-free. He sighed, and then ran a hand through his blond hair, and turned away from his manservant.

He couldn't lose control in front of someone like this – especially if it was someone as clumsy and as reckless as his manservant Merlin.

"You can put my clothes on the bed and leave, Merlin." He murmured, still showing his back to Merlin.

For a second Merlin said nothing, perhaps confused. "But, Sire, I still have a lot to do. You told me to –"

"_Would you _forget _what I told you to, you idiot?"_ Arthur roared suddenly, whirling around crazily to look at him. Merlin jumped at his loud voice, stepping backwards, eyes wide in clear surprise. The Prince closed his eyes, took deep breaths and then opened his eyes, which were now filled with regret. Merlin didn't deserve any of his anger; after all, he hadn't done anything wrong.

"...I-...I'm sorry, Merlin. Please – put the clothes on the bed and leave. You can hold off the rest of your duties for tomorrow, alright?" The manservant stared at him for a while, but then nodded slowly, and placed his clothes on the bed and shakily walked out of the room.

When he did so, Arthur pressed the heels of his hands against his eyelids and breathed out deeply. He sat down on a chair then, placing his elbow on the table in front of him and placing his head on his open palm.

It had been like this for a while, all of the times it was around Sir Andrew. Anger, pain, jealousy _(But this was because Sir Andrew would converse with Morgana, so that was justified...sort of)_, and some other feeling that he had yet to name properly. Although, today, seeing Sir Lancelot so close to the other knight...it sparked _jealousy _in him. But why? Because he didn't have the sort of companionship that Sir Andrew and Sir Lancelot had? Or that he wanted Sir Andrew to be his own friend, and not Sir Lancelot's?

Arthur had no idea, and this angering him greatly. "Nothing is making sense these days." Arthur whispered to himself, voice muffled because his fingers were pressed against his mouth.

He had to do something about his haywire feelings...and _fast_, before he went completely insane.

* * *

**Silent Knight: There we have it! :) Poor Arthur with his haywire feelings, poor Andrea who got no Lancelot loving, poor Lancelot for, uh...not getting a kiss, and poor Merlin for getting yelled at by Arthur. :(**

**Anyway, let's see what will happen next chapter, which is called** _Haywire Feelings_**...**

_One of the reasons she liked him so much was because he gave her so much respect, while the other knights only sneered and jeered and looked at her like she was a piece of meat. He saw her very differently and spoke with her politely, and whenever they danced at balls, his hands never wandered, though sometimes she wished they would..._

Hmm...perhaps Lady Morgana doesn't like Sir Andrew as much as I thought she did, _Andrea thought to herself._ Good. If Prince Arthur and Lady Morgana get together, finally Lady Morgana will get off of both Sir Andrew's and my case. That'll be like heaven for sure_..._

_"Oh, it's on now, Sir Owain. You just called out the beast."_

_"Really, Sir Andrew? 'The beast,' eh?"_

_"Yes, the beast."..._

_And practice went on without a hitch._

_However, what didn't go on without a hitch was in the afternoon, when Andrea was going her rounds, and the girffin unexpectedly attacked..._

**And that is what will happen next on **_Knightess_**. Ready yourselves, people. :) Review, favourite, alert - all that good stuff. lol**

**Until next time.**

**Silent Knight over and out!**


	5. IMPORTANT News Update!

**K**n**i**g**h**t**e**s**s**

News update!

If you haven't realized yet, this story won't be updated any time soon. _NO, _this doesn't mean I've given up on this story. I have **THIRTEEN **whole chapters of this story that I've written up; I don't think that I'm willing to give up on a story that I'm willing to dedicate so much time to. Plus, I have to continously watch _Merlin _to get more of a firm grasp of the episode. That, to me, is pure torture.

There is **no way in hell **that I will allow this story to die out like this. Not when I'm so far_(-ish) _in. Not when I'm so dedicated to it.

And definitely not when so many of you have devoted time into reading each chapter when I did update.

And so, check out my author's page. There you will find some shocking news: **I have made another account on Fanfiction. **Why? Because I really believe that these past few years have changed me, and thus changed my writing as well. Which is why I made a new account so you will realize how different my previous stories, which are here, are from the ones I have poster on my other account.

_You will find a link to my new account there. DO CLICK IT._

I have just posted the edited prologue of this story on that account. Favourite, like, alert, review - all that fun stuff.

**KNIGHTESS AND ARTHUR/ANDREA STILL LIVES, FOLKS. PASS THE NEWS ON. :D**

For the very last time, **Silent Knight **over and out!


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